ND Gets Lei’d

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – For just the second time in school history, Notre Dame will be playing a bowl game in Hawai’i.

The Fighting Irish (6-6) will face Hawai’i (7-6) in the seventh annual Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl on Dec. 24, the NCAA announced Sunday evening.

“We’re very excited about heading out west to play in the Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl,” head coach Charlie Weis said. “This is a great opportunity for our team to face a quality opponent in their backyard and we’ll need to be ready.

“I know the extra practices this month will really benefit our team and we look forward to ending this season on a good note.”

This will be the fourth trip to Hawai’i in the football program’s history. The Irish lost to SMU in the 1984 Aloha Bowl, 27-20, and played at Hawai’i in the regular season finales in 1991 and 1997. Notre Dame won both previous meetings with the Warriors, 48-42 in 1991 and 23-22 in 1997.

Site of the game is 50,000-seat Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawai’i. ESPN will nationally televise the game at 8:00 p.m. EST (3:00 p.m. HST in Honolulu).

Notre Dame will be making its 29th bowl appearance overall and its fourth in the past five seasons. The Irish played in the 2007 Allstate Sugar Bowl, the 2006 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl and the 2004 Insight Bowl. Notre Dame is 13-15 in postseason play.

Hawai’i will be making its ninth bowl appearance since becoming a Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I) member in 1974. The Warriors are 5-3 all-time in bowl games and have received seven bowl berths in the last 10 years. Hawai’i played in last year’s Sugar Bowl and has also played in the Aloha Bowl (1989), Holiday Bowl (1992), O’ahu Bowl (1999) and the Hawai’i Bowl (2002, 2003, 2004, 2006). The Warriors are 3-1 in previous Hawai’i Bowls, losing in 2002 (36-28 to Tulane) but winning the last three (54-48 in three overtimes vs. Houston in 2003, 59-40 vs. UAB in 2004, and 41-24 vs. Arizona State in 2006).

I must say that I am insanely jealous of all the current managers that will get to work this game (and even to those that just get the free ticket). For me (and I have a feeling a lot of Irish fans) will be making plans to watch this in front of a TV and hoping Santa brings me the end of the Irish bowl losing streak.